Adrian Make Movie is a film production company based in Arlington, TX created by Adrian Testolin and Daniel Laabs, and was started in the summer of 2008. Our films have screened at SXSW, AFI DALLAS, and The Texas Black Film Festival. Here we will post news about screenings, movie reviews, and general blogish type posts concerning film and our company. Enjoy!
I've been reticent of allowing reshoots on films since a very bad experience in school. It was technically as far as experience goes a good one, because I definitely took more care in getting it right the first time. Lately I've made a massive change in the way I work, starting with "Sweet Potatoes" and then with Start a Band and now Haggle. I guess the general idea is experimenting with finding the right amount of preparation so that the outcome is more fresh in my mind by the time of the first screening. One of the biggest personal mistakes I made with Sleet/Snow, and I know I blog about my mistakes a lot (sorry this one is relatively minor), was over thinking everything to point where I was so involved with the ideas I couldn't reconcile editing them out. I poured too much in their creation to be comfortable with leaving them out.
I think now looking back my change in production methods has gone back to something I began as a teenager. And that is only preparing what is absolutely necessary to get the thing done and get it done the way I think should be. I am appreciative that I have such dedicated and patient crew/friends that are will to share this with me.
Looking back on Haggle and all the chaos of ideas, pulling through it and emerging with a clear agenda to re-enter the material two weeks later. The project justified the reshoot, the methods did as well. Sure in the end there will be minor inconsistencies, but perfection was not what we were seeking. We were seeking a messier product in lieu of what matters more. For that you'll have to wait to see the film.
Hope to see some new and some friendly faces there as I will be in attendance.
We are also playing with the rest of the fantastic Texas Show selections. It really is a superb shorts block.
Little update on a few projects.
Hot/Cold (which has nothing to do with Sleet/Snow) will be moving into post later this month. We have recently found some space to cut the film in which is very, very exciting to have a real professional edit space. So work will commence on that front very soon. I know Frank is gnawing at the bit to get started, as am I. We have also begun early preproduction on the somewhat large scale pickups that we will need to complete the film.
Start a Band is officially now being submitted to festivals. After a very successful screening at the Videofest I am coupling it with the last remaining Sleet/Snow submissions.
North Street Bummer was featured on Shortfilmtexas.com as well as a rather lengthy interview. One that I'm sure will keep me cringing for many years to come. So if you haven't checked that out please do so here.
Oh boy, what else…
Haggle recently went into production. I won't say much about it, but I am very excited.
3 Films (2 shorts, 1 Feature) Written and Directed by Daniel Laabs
The shorts are going into production in January and early February and the feature will have rolling auditions throughout the year until the director and producers are ready to set a date for production. Our hope is to find one or two actors to perform in all three projects.
"Haggle," 5mins, HD (Improvised) (Production: Early/Mid January)
Two white philosophy students, Fred and Nick, are approached by a black teenager, Aaron; who is trying to get his start in underground hip-hop by selling demo CDs on the street. The students lead him on to the point where Aaron is compelled to confront them and their actions.
Fred, (19 – 22), Caucasian or Hispanic, an opinionated and pessimistic, young intellectual, lives off of meager budget but manages to stay stylish. He only watches foreign and art house films and is in the process of growing his first beard. Given the opportunity, Fred will and can rant.He is a stern believer that talking about problems helps to make things better.
Nick, (19 – 22), Caucasian, spirited, optimistic, studious and often inspired by Fred’s rants. By nature Nick is a follower and is prone to following trends. He is less opinionated than he is logical, but will always seek the reasoning behind an idea. He thinks before he speaks, and in situations he doesn’t agree with he will always take a passive role.
"Dirty Faces," 10mins, HD (Production: Late January/Early February)
A couple of drifting petty thieves, Curtis and Jenna, find an opportunity to take their work to the next level by lifting a small time drug dealer who is old friends with Jenna.
Curtis, (19 – 22), a drifter, a thief, quiet and confident, takes care of himself and attempts to live outside the system. Very introverted.
"Brentwood Stair," 90mins, HD (Summer 2010)
Will, a, embittered 19 year old misfit, has been kicked out of his mother’s home and is thrust into the world of becoming an adult. When a friend, Herold, mysteriously disappears he finds himself replacing and fulfilling Herold’s responsibilities with his sick mother.
Will, (19 – 22), Caucasian, an embittered misfit, who withholds his emotions, and desires. Rarely comfortable socially he doesn’t like people in general.
Instructions:
-Please send any and all inquiries with a headshot to our Casting Director, Amy Childress, amy.adrianmakemovie@gmail.com
-She will book you a time to come in and read, after we have received enough responses and the holidays are over. Auditions will be held by appointment only.
Information:
-Compensation: Actors who are cast will receive union level accommodations during production, transportation, food and payment (only for the feature). In addition to that scenes and other promotional materials will be provided for reels, and a DVD of the finished product.
I completely dropped the ball, and this blog is about a month late. Seriously! The first dumb thing is that I forgot to announce on here is we were accepted into Lone Star, meaning we somehow managed to screen at 3 hometown festivals. So Thank you Videofest, Lone Star and of course the venerable AFI Dallas/Dallas International. I will try to construct some memories of the two weeks in November.
VIDEOFEST!
This was in many ways a homecoming, the Dallas Videofest has long been a festival I attend annually, and never had a film play. So to have two films play was really exceptional! As always Videofest leaves you feeling inspired create, but this year in particular it left me with a sense of security. Sleet/Snow played to a sold out crowd, and afterwards I fielded lots of questions and it won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short. But the whole thing was just super, I got to hang out with the Prime Eights at a few of the parties and that was great. Those guys made an excellent doc called "Walking Fish and Big Red" which I highly recommend and it can be seen here. It was definitely an honor to hang out with such prolific and passionate folks as they. I got to see Kat Chandler's new film which was pretty cool too. My favorite short though was Drew Xanthopoulos' Western Brothers' Adventure Story and a clip of which can be seen here. The film leaves with the sense that you've experienced a full narrative but the way it is expressed, shot and editing is truly unique. It is story telling at it's most pure. I was more then a little frustrated that I didn't meet the filmmaker afterwards.
Start a Band also won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Comedy Short, a prize that was won last year by Clay Liford for My Mom Smokes Weed, which just got into Sundance. Thanks to all the Jury for the awards and we shall see if anything comes of them. Also to Bart Weiss and Johnny Rutledge, for doing an exceptional job with the festival overall... Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
onto LONE STAR!
It is fantastic to see the community come together to put on a festival, and reinforce it with the city's excellent cultural infrastructure. The convenience of Sundance Square and the Museum District of Fort Worth make this festival really step up. I drank my way through this one, I saw some really nice films including Oren Moverman's triumphantly subtle The Messenger, as well a second viewing of You Won't Miss Me. Which I didn't enjoy as much as I did the first time, but still it was quite an awesome screening at the Kimball Art Museum. The auditorium there has to be seen to be believed, its a very odd venue.
Sleet/Snow played near midnight, and I was able to attend the screening with Gideon who had yet to see the film with a festival audience. The following night I ran into a friend I made at BendFilm! whose film "Haze" also played AFI last year, Pete Schuermann, and we went a very weepy eyed award ceremony for Kris Kristofferson. Not quite feeling that we retreated to the "Disney Party" and which was a blast. (Haze can be seen in full here on snagfilms) I got to meet quite a few really fantastic people at the festival and I am very grateful for the screening. A lot of things are said about Lone Star, but through it all this year was an exceptional one for them. Great Work!
To be continued as far as Sleet/Snow goes, last night was the one year anniversary of its first screening at the SFVO Fall Screening. Which was unfortunately the first of many screenings of the film that I ducked out of.
Well Bret and I got in yesterday at noon, and much to my surprise Vincent, form the most entertaining documentary Vincent: A Life in Color was on our flight into Redmond along with a few other filmmakers. We get to town and we are staying at a very beautiful house that is straight out of an issue of Better Homes and Gardens. We are about three blocks from Downtown where all the "action" is. There are a about a million local restaurants here, this place feels unreal. I attempted to watch Road to Fallujah but was half asleep the for half the film. Overall from what I saw I liked, and the Q & A was heated so that was fun. Then after like 32hrs of being awake, we called it a night. Today we began with a Filmmaker Breakfast, and got meet some very nice people. Our screening partners from the excellent short "Royalty Free" hung out with us all day making the multiple treks back and forth from screening to screening much easier to procure.
We ate dinner at the Lahianna Gallery, which had several Pop Surrealist renderings of Bears interacting with things, odd and enjoyable. Overall I am just frustrated that I won't be seeing half of the films I want to. I am glad I printed out some new lobby Cards that Andrew made, which are larger and just nicer in general. I am definitely submitting here again, this is an excellent and laid back festival. And it is pretty, will post pictures soon!
So this year at the festival formerly known as the Dallas Video Festival, now just Videofest, Adrian Make Movie is taking over residency. With a total of three shorts playing, Gillface, Sleet/Snow, and Start a Band. Very exciting news, hopefully more news is to come! I also saw that the Beaches of Agnes is playing, which is by a very favorite filmmaker of mine, Agnes Varda. It is a film that has been at the top of my list to see since it premiered last year! Sleet/Snow will play in the Texas Show this year, which is a great honor. I've gone to this festival for a few years now and really am happy to finally have a film playing in it, and two films at that.
A few words on Start a Band, it was a film shot mainly to get me out of a 10 month rut of literally making nothing, during which time I produced a few films, but never really directed anything. I am very excited to see it play. That is really nice news since it was shot literally the week of the deadline!
Mark your calendars!
David's film will be playing on Saturday, November 7th, and Daniel's films will screen on the Sunday, November 8th. More screenings to come before the year is out.
It is sort of a tradition here at The Adrian Make Movie Official Blog, to discuss which films I am most excited about at each festival we are attending, and then sort of recap which ones I liked and didn't care to elaborate on. First I will mention that Children of Invention is playing (big surprise!) this film screened at AFI Dallas and I had the chance to meet Tze and I absolutely loved his film. I may even watch it again, but I've seen twice already and there are so many other films I will be trying to catch.
A big hole from South by was 45365. Which I got a chance to see via SnagFilms over the summer, but I knew then when I watched it, that it was an experience best reserved for a theatrical viewing. Thankfully I will get another chance to catch this one. I also really watch to see, while I'm on the subject of Documentaries, The Road to Fallujah, which played Slamdance earlier this year and I just can't pretend I am not curious about it. Vincent also looks like a random bit of fun, which is a film seemingly about a guy who wears colorful suits.
The opening night film, "A Film With Me In It" was particularly amazing at South by, but we did see it at a midnight screening, so I am ready to give it another chance seeing as there isn't really anything else going on other then that! We are screening before the films Fuel and Blue Bus, the latter of which looks very promising. Bomber was also one Adrian and I almost saw at in Austin but missed due mainly to scheduling. I am going to make a concerted attempt to see as many shorts as possible, and also re-watch Jon Bryant's hilarious Overbrook Brothers.
Mostly what excites me about BendFilm is not the cool festival programs (which I have no doubt will be great!) it is a part of the country I have never seen. I only wish I was driving there instead of flying! I hope we can convince our hosts to take us to see some of the beauty that is the northwest part of this country.
